Why Williams-Sonoma (WSM) Is Popping on Thursday

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Williams-Sonoma (WSM), the popular home goods retailer, is soaring on Thursday after reporting fourth-quarter results after the bell a day earlier.

By market open, shares had surged 6.8% to $63.

The owner of namesake stores, Pottery Barn and West Elm posted net income of $1.38 a share and revenue 3.5% higher than a year earlier to $1.46 billion in its quarter ended Feb. 2. Comparable brand revenue grew 10.4%.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters had anticipated net income of $1.35 a share and sales of $1.43 billion.

For the April-ending first quarter, management guides for earnings between 41 cents and 44 cents a share and revenue of $920 million to $940 million. Analysts had forecast net income of 46 cents a share and $943.53 million in sales.

Investment firm Jefferies reiterated the stock as a "buy" and upped its price target to $72 from $67.

Analyst John Marrin wrote, "The focus of our investment thesis on Williams-Sonoma has shifted from the robust early cycle recovery in discretionary spending among core upper-income customers to mid-cycle growth driven by: 1) unit expansion at West Elm; 2) the turnaround at the namesake Williams-Sonoma brand, 3) and early returns on its efforts to get market share overseas."

TheStreet Ratings team rates WILLIAMS-SONOMA INC as a Buy with a ratings score of A-. The team has this to say about their recommendation:

"We rate WILLIAMS-SONOMA INC (WSM) a BUY. This is based on the convergence of positive investment measures, which should help this stock outperform the majority of stocks that we rate. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its revenue growth, solid stock price performance, impressive record of earnings per share growth, increase in net income and notable return on equity. Although the company may harbor some minor weaknesses, we feel they are unlikely to have a significant impact on results."